Comic fans have been delighted by Patrick McDonnell's comic strip MUTTS for almost thirty years, but they might be surprised to see his work in the context of the Marvel Universe. But next week, on Sept. 26, Abrams ComicArts and Marel Comics are joining forces to present McDonnell's The Super Hero's Journey, starring The Fantastic Four, Hulk, Spider-Man, and more.
The Super Hero's Journey combines McDonnell's iconic cartooning style with work from legendary Marvel artists like Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and Don Heck to tell a story about positivity that's as biographical and spiritual as it is action-packed and bombastic. In an interview with CBR, McDonnell discussed the book's origins, the process of combining his work with classic Silver Age stories, and his lifelong love of comics.
CBR: How did The Super Hero's Journey come about?
Patrick McDonnell: I had just finished working on Heart to Heart, a book collaboration with the Dalai Lama, and was wondering what might be next. Fate stepped in when Abrams Editor-In-Chief (and friend) Charles Kochman asked me if I'd like to do a book with the Marvel superheroes. I immediately said yes to the possibility of that childhood dream coming true. Out of that came The Super Hero's Journey. It's a mashed-up graphic novel that is part memoir, combining classic Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Steve Ditko pages and panels with my own art and tells a new story in a new way. And, to make it more special, it's the second book in Alex Ross' MarvelArts imprint.
What made you want to explore the themes of love and positivity and your own life story through the lens of Watcher and the Fantastic Four?
Love-and-positivity has been an ongoing theme in MUTTS and in all my work. It's also an undercurrent in the early Marvel comics. My original goal in creating The Super Hero's Journey was to try and capture the positive cosmic energy in those 1960s books and to recapture the love and wonder I had as a child watching that Marvel Universe come alive. Fantastic Four Annual #3 (Reed and Sue's wedding), the spirituality of the Watcher, the idea of fighting the Negative Zone with positivity, and the two powerful quotes on love from Jack Kirby that begin and end the book all kickstarted my imagination. Then, the Watcher became my avatar, and together, we witnessed the story as it developed with little interference.
The Super Hero's Journey combines your art and writing with panels from several Silver Age Marvel comics. How did you go about selecting the perfect panels to incorporate into your story?
It was pure joy and a great excuse to revisit all those classic comics. My early focus was rereading the early issues of The Fantastic Four, The Avengers, Spider-Man, The Hulk, and Thor. I started by searching for pages and panels that fit into my narrative while staying open to surprises that might help shape it. And there were plenty. It was like putting a puzzle together. 99% of the classic art and dialogue was used verbatim, no changes. I'm amazed and proud of how this crazy, beautiful collage of words and pictures meshed and worked so well together.
Was it difficult to adjust to the graphic novel form after spending so long working on comic strips?
Not really. It's all about telling stories with words and pictures, and I'm fortunate to have had 30 years of practice doing that with my daily comic strip, MUTTS, and my 14 children's books. Plus, a lifetime of reading and studying Jack Kirby hopefully paid off.
You've described The Super Hero's Journey as "a fantastical dream-memory of my childhood infatuation with comic books." Can you talk a bit about how your relationship with the medium has developed over the years? How did this book impact it?
I've had a life-long obsession with comics. As a toddler, I was mesmerized by my mom's copies of Pogo and her Jules Feiffer books. Then there was Peanuts, the reason I became a cartoonist. My tween years were spent reading Marvel and MAD, followed by R. Crumb and the underground comics. That was also when I discovered Krazy Kat, a major influence on my work. It led to Art Spiegelman's RAW and the other alternative press mags.
Today, I'm aware of some of the graphic novels, webcomics, and a few of the new superhero artists. But new books come on the scene pretty briskly, and as a working cartoonist, it's hard to stay caught up. Doing The Super Hero's Journey rekindled how much I love those crazy, funny superheroes that come so alive on the page, doing impossible things in impossible ways. I'm grateful for all the talented artists who put the best of themselves (and us) on the page.
Are there other Marvel stories you're interested in telling? Can fans look forward to a MUTTS/Marvel crossover?
The Super Hero's Journey was such a fun, rewarding project for me that I would love to play again with those old Marvel friends. I think Lee, Kirby, Ditko, and all the subsequent writers and artists have proven that these interesting, well-developed characters have never-ending possibilities. As far as MUTTS goes, for years now, I've been doing mini-crossovers. Every July during San Diego Comic-Con, I've done a week of MUTTS/Marvel mashups. I was honored a few years ago when Joe Sinnott twice inked MUTTS Sunday pages that were tributes to Fantastic Four comic book covers. This year, starting the week of September 25th, Earl and Mooch will be superheroes to celebrate the pub date of The Super Hero's Journey.
The Super Hero's Journey is due out on Sept. 26.